Plato: The Complete Works (31 Books). Plato

at the side of the rings which hang down from the Muse. And every poet has some Muse from whom he is suspended, and by whom he is said to be possessed, which is nearly the same thing; for he is taken hold of. And from these first rings, which are the poets, depend others, some deriving their inspiration from Orpheus, others from Musaeus; but the greater number are possessed and held by Homer. Of whom, Ion, you are one, and are possessed by Homer; and when any one repeats the words of another poet you go to sleep, and know not what to say; but when any one recites a strain of Homer you wake up in a moment, and your soul leaps within you, and you have plenty to say; for not by art or knowledge about Homer do you say what you say, but by divine inspiration and by possession; just as the Corybantian revellers too have a quick perception of that strain only which is appropriated to the God by whom they are possessed, and have plenty of dances and words for that, but take no heed of any other. And you, Ion, when the name of Homer is mentioned have plenty to say, and have nothing to say of others. You ask, ‘Why is this?’ The answer is that you praise Homer not by art but by divine inspiration.

      ION: That is good, Socrates; and yet I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessed; and if you could hear me speak of him I am sure you would never think this to be the case.

      SOCRATES: I should like very much to hear you, but not until you have answered a question which I have to ask. On what part of Homer do you speak well?—not surely about every part.

      ION: There is no part, Socrates, about which I do not speak well: of that I can assure you.

      SOCRATES: Surely not about things in Homer of which you have no knowledge?

      ION: And what is there in Homer of which I have no knowledge?

      SOCRATES: Why, does not Homer speak in many passages about arts? For example, about driving; if I can only remember the lines I will repeat them.

      ION: I remember, and will repeat them.

      SOCRATES: Tell me then, what Nestor says to Antilochus, his son, where he bids him be careful of the turn at the horserace in honour of Patroclus.

      ION: ‘Bend gently,’ he says, ‘in the polished chariot to the left of them, and urge the horse on the right hand with whip and voice; and slacken the rein. And when you are at the goal, let the left horse draw near, yet so that the nave of the well-wrought wheel may not even seem to touch the extremity; and avoid catching the stone (Il.).’

      SOCRATES: Enough. Now, Ion, will the charioteer or the physician be the better judge of the propriety of these lines?

      ION: The charioteer, clearly.

      SOCRATES: And will the reason be that this is his art, or will there be any other reason?

      ION: No, that will be the reason.

      SOCRATES: And every art is appointed by God to have knowledge of a certain work; for that which we know by the art of the pilot we do not know by the art of medicine?

      ION: Certainly not.

      SOCRATES: Nor do we know by the art of the carpenter that which we know by the art of medicine?

      ION: Certainly not.

      SOCRATES: And this is true of all the arts;—that which we know with one art we do not know with the other? But let me ask a prior question: You admit that there are differences of arts?

      ION: Yes.

      SOCRATES: You would argue, as I should, that when one art is of one kind of knowledge and another of another, they are different?

      ION: Yes.

      SOCRATES: Yes, surely; for if the subject of knowledge were the same, there would be no meaning in saying that the arts were different,—if they both gave the same knowledge. For example, I know that here are five fingers, and you know the same. And if I were to ask whether I and you became acquainted with this fact by the help of the same art of arithmetic, you would acknowledge that we did?

      ION: Yes.

      SOCRATES: Tell me, then, what I was intending to ask you,—whether this holds universally? Must the same art have the same subject of knowledge, and different arts other subjects of knowledge?

      ION: That is my opinion, Socrates.

      SOCRATES: Then he who has no knowledge of a particular art will have no right judgment of the sayings and doings of that art?

      ION: Very true.

      SOCRATES: Then which will be a better judge of the lines which you were reciting from Homer, you or the charioteer?

      ION: The charioteer.

      SOCRATES: Why, yes, because you are a rhapsode and not a charioteer.

      ION: Yes.

      SOCRATES: And the art of the rhapsode is different from that of the charioteer?

      ION: Yes.

      SOCRATES: And if a different knowledge, then a knowledge of different matters?

      ION: True.

      SOCRATES: You know the passage in which Hecamede, the concubine of Nestor, is described as giving to the wounded Machaon a posset, as he says,

      ‘Made with Pramnian wine; and she grated cheese of goat’s milk with a grater of bronze, and at his side placed an onion which gives a relish to drink (Il.).’

      Now would you say that the art of the rhapsode or the art of medicine was better able to judge of the propriety of these lines?

      ION: The art of medicine.

      SOCRATES: And when Homer says,

      ‘And she descended into the deep like a leaden plummet, which, set in the horn of ox that ranges in the fields, rushes along carrying death among the ravenous fishes (Il.),’—

      will the art of the fisherman or of the rhapsode be better able to judge whether these lines are rightly expressed or not?

      ION: Clearly, Socrates, the art of the fisherman.

      SOCRATES: Come now, suppose that you were to say to me: ‘Since you, Socrates, are able to assign different passages in Homer to their corresponding arts, I wish that you would tell me what are the passages of which the excellence ought to be judged by the prophet and prophetic art’; and you will see how readily and truly I shall answer you. For there are many such passages, particularly in the Odyssee; as, for example, the passage in which Theoclymenus the prophet of the house of Melampus says to the suitors:—

      ‘Wretched men! what is happening to you? Your heads and your faces and your limbs underneath are shrouded in night; and the voice of lamentation bursts forth, and your cheeks are wet with tears. And the vestibule is full, and the court is full, of ghosts descending into the darkness of Erebus, and the sun has perished out of heaven, and an evil mist is spread abroad (Od.).’

      And there are many such passages in the Iliad also; as for example in the description of the battle near the rampart, where he says:—

      ‘As they were eager to pass the ditch, there came to them an omen: a soaring eagle, holding back the people on the left, bore a huge bloody dragon in his talons, still living and panting; nor had he yet resigned the strife, for he bent back and smote the bird which carried him on the breast by the neck, and he in pain let him fall from him to the ground into the midst of the multitude. And the eagle, with a cry, was borne afar on the wings of the wind (Il.).’

      These are the sort of things which I should say that the prophet ought to consider and determine.

      ION: And you are quite right, Socrates, in saying so.

      SOCRATES: Yes, Ion, and you are right also. And as I have selected from the Iliad and Odyssee for you passages which describe the office of the prophet and the physician and the fisherman, do you, who know Homer so much better than I do, Ion, select for me passages which relate to the rhapsode and the rhapsode’s art, and which the rhapsode ought to examine and judge of better than other men.

      ION: All passages,